With
the widespread of the use of social media, people are increasingly expressing
their opinions publicly online. Some of these opinions lack respect and
sensitivity especially racist commentaries. Racist commentary about minority
groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because users take
their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible
use of social media are not being heavily monitored by the Media Development
Authority (MDA). Racism is the idea or belief that characteristics and
abilities are attributed to people on the basis of their race, and that some
racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number
of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this
will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that the Singaporean
government wants to preserve. The internet provides a platform for people to
voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel
“empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in
real life” (Younge, 2012). This problem may be tackled if MDA can collaborate
with social media agencies like SMC4 to automatically remove racist comments or
block users who use the social media irresponsibly. The Ministry of Education
in Singapore can also urge schools or academic institutions to stress on
educating students about online racism.
An
example of an irresponsible use of social media is when Ms Amy Cheong posted
her profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck
weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012).
For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police
and was also fired from her job as Assistant Director of the National Trades
Union Congress (NTUC).
The
legislative council of Singapore has a law against racist commentaries. According
to Chapter 290 of the Sedition Act 1964 (SIN), anyone who post remarks or
comments that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different
races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence
and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding
$5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both”. The
punishment she received from the authorities was deemed insufficient to
compensate for her irresponsible actions, which had threatened the social
cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not many follow-ups
on the consequences she faced, which might have given people the impression
that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. As a result, the
internet regulations in Singapore have also been regarded as a myth (Yip, 2013).
MDA can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. In order
to tackle this issue, MDA can work with social media agencies such as Facebook
as well as SMC4 that provides protection against social media abuse and brand
damage. SMC4 instantly removes inappropriate online commentaries, including
profanity, racism and sexist posted on social media platforms (SMC4, 2015). SMC4’s
protection may help to reduce the increasing number of racist commentaries in
Singapore. Singaporeans or Media Development Authority need not have to go
through the hassle of filtering the internet or reporting any irresponsible
users as the racist comments will be removed immediately. If malicious users
persistently attempt to post racist commentaries, Facebook has the authority to
remove them (Facebook, 2015).
Since
the law was insufficient to curb the problem of racist commentaries, another
possible solution is that the Ministry of Education (MOE) should continue to
urge schools to stress on educating students about the responsible use of
internet focusing towards online racism in social media. During the Cyber
Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference, Ms Ho Peng,
Director-General of Education addressed the potential risks of Internet despite
its opportunities for learning especially for students who are active
participants of the cyber space. She also emphasized on the importance of peer
education to raise “understanding of various cyber wellness issues such as
cyber bullying and Internet safety” (Cyber wellness, 2014). This initiative
should be carried on as it is easier and will be more effective to approach
students via their peers who belong to the same age group (Briggs, 2013).
Schools can also design talks or quizzes to get an idea of how much do the
students know about online racism on social media.
This
approach is meant for an early prevention. It is imperative to start educating
people on internet ethics when they are of a young age as they have the ability
to remember and apply it for the rest of their lives (Garrett, 2003). There
have been cases of online racism such as the case on two 17 year old youths who
were arrested for posting racist remarks on their respective Facebook and
Twitter accounts (Singapore Police Force, 2012). Schools can use real life
cases to illustrate the impact of online racism on the society as well as the
consequences of the irresponsible use of social media. Schools can also work
together with parents to educate their children about online racism at home as
some students might prefer listening to their parents instead. When students
start engaging in the use of social media, they might become more conscious of
what they can or cannot post on their social media accounts, and they might
also know how to react to racist commentaries they encounter on the internet in
the future.
In
conclusion, early prevention provides a better solution to the responsible use
of internet which affects online racism. Although the law is one way to curb
online racism from occurring, it is still insufficient to compensate for the
damage online racism may potentially cause. It is then necessary to inculcate
the impact and consequences of online racism onto young minds to prevent
Singaporeans from posting online commentaries on the social media in the
future.
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References
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